Dawn I have a cardinal that lives in the woods near where I park my pickup. He showed up not long after my father in law passed. I had never heard of the old belief until the wife was telling me about it shortly afterward.

This soul must be one I've unknowingly wronged at some point, because of the way he treats my passenger side mirror! He's messed on it and smeared the droppings all over the mirror and housing. Of course this seems to always happen soon after I wash it? The glass is scratched and he's pecked at the plastic around the rim, breaking it in places. Wonder if she will notice if it disappears? Or will I be haunted afterward?

My summer sausage skills may be a little rusty, but overall this batch turned out fairly decent. Certainly better than store bought and I know what's in it! This batch was jalapeño/cheese, so now I need to do one plain. Then trying to decide whether to do pepperoni, chorizo or polish, hmmm. Oh or snacksticks!

Too late to plant garlic?

Im scrubbed in and masked up like a surgeon, spending the day doing 3 batches of jam filled shortbread cookies for the freezer.

Bruce you could gently relocate that bird couldn't you?

Yes do watch those vents and plants/trees.

One year we cut the most beautiful tree put the lights and decorations on and went to town. Came back and half the tree was dead from the floor vent. It was aimed straight at our tree. We shoved the dead part into the corner and carried on.

This 10 degree day with 10" of snow I believe I will stay in and pack and work on garden planning. The dates are completely different for northnorthern Denton county then here. Onions for example will be 1 month earlier. I will not be there yet so maybe no big onion s this year. According to my Tx Ag spring planting guide everything is 2 to 4 weeks earlier.

Sophie is in the house and she is excited and confused lol. Last night she tried to hide her water you know in case I tried to go steal it and ended up soaking her bedding. If she wouldn't lose all those hairs and I wasn't allergic I would love to keep her in.

Bruce, that cardinal can see himself in your mirror and thinks another male is infringing on his territory. Cardinals, maybe other birds, too, but I have only heard stories involving cardinals, sometimes become obsessed with their own image in a particular reflective surface. They also feed "red" colored fish (if you believe Facebook videos). Try covering the mirror with a bag for a while, maybe he will look for interlopers elsewhere.

I have a pickup with large mirrors, and had a Mockingbird that was always fooling with my mirrors and pooping on the mirrors and the side of the truck.

I noticed a few minutes ago that I had some winter peas just breaking through the soil. They may become victim of the cold weather, but the ones that were planted a month or two ago are looking good.

Lol! Kim, my relocation skills are pretty much limited to, well above ground or below? No, the pesky little red sucker is safe!

And yes, Amy I get tickled watching the poor guy! He can not figure out how to chase his competitor off! I figured he would have migrated by now?

I need to check our food plots and see how our winter peas are doing. Last check the turnips and daikons weren't thriving like most years. Normally the turnips would be a big handful by now, but for some reason they have been slow growing.

Bruce, It sounds like your cardinal is fighting that other male cardinal (his reflection) that he sees. We get that a lot here with cardinals, and also with wild turkey toms who fight that other male turkey tom they see in the vehicle hub caps. I wonder why they cannot figure out they are battling their own reflection? With the birds flying into mirrors or windows, I've had some success hanging old CDs or other shiny things from fishing line in front of windows---their movement seems to disrupt the bird's ability to clearly view his own reflection in the window or mirror. Guineas are almost as bad about fighting their own reflections too. I agree with everything that everyone else has said about the male birds and their reflections.

We have cardinals here all winter---perhaps not the same ones that are here in spring and summer. It seems like all our cardinals disappeared in Sept or Oct and we had none for a couple of months, but recently they've all shown up again. I don't know if the same cardinals came back, or if new ones migrated in from areas further north. Either way, they tend to stay all winter and get fat and happy on the hen scratch and black oil sunflower seeds that I put out for them.

Rebecca, No, not too late, but probably the sooner the better---at least by the end of the year. That's just to ensure the cloves you plant have time to sprout and grow and produce good bulbs by summer. Technically you can plant garlic any day of the year, but at some point it will become too late for them to produce well in 2019. I think I have planted as late as January and had a good enough harvest though.

I saw your photo of your jam-filled shortbread cookies on FB and thought they looked perfect....and perfectly awesome. You've missed your calling, and I can picture you as the owner/operator of a lovely little bakery filled with wonderful delights.

Kim, I hope Sophie is enjoying her time indoors with you. The two of you have been through a lot together the last couple of years----a furbaby companion is such a wonderful friend to have by your side, even if she comes with a lot of dog hair.

Larry, I'm still seeing cool-season grasses and wildflowers sprouting and growing, so it isn't too cold yet. Maybe your late planting of winter peas still have a chance.

Do y'all know what I do when all the work is done and I am bored? It was too muddy to work outdoors and the drizzle was falling. Indoors was clean, all the work chores were done and there's nothing in this house left undecorated for the holidays. So.....I had to find new ways to amuse myself. Now, I usually don't watch a lot of TV, but I was stuck indoors in Friday and Saturday's endless drizzly cold rain, so I found the Hallmark Channel and started watching Christmas movies. I've never watched their movies before. I note a certain pattern in them: all the homes are decorated to the nth degree and are absolutely drop-dead perfect...too perfect perhaps. Everyone dresses in spectacular clothing, even if they are just out on the porch sweeping the snow off the steps. Nobody is dressed like me in comfy sweats and tennis shoes. Even when at home doing chores, or sleeping, they have a full face of makeup, perfect hair and are wearing exquisite jewelry. Snow falls everywhere, but you don't see anyone wrecking in the snow (well, except in the new Hallmark movie I'm watching right now where the wreck is a plot device to introduce the visiting real estate developer to the local sheriff so they can, I am sure, fall in love before the movie ends). Every small town is perfect, like Main Street at Disney World and decorated like a billionaire owns the town. None of these little movie towns, all quaint and cute as can be, have a single empty storefront or a block of them, visible like we have in real small towns here in Oklahoma. Every town has a little Christmas Festival or Fair or something where everyone ends up by the end of the movie, and our lead stars have fallen in love. Often the lead stars have only just met earlier in the movie, but in some cases they knew one another decades or years ago, and the romance didn't work out, and now they have reconnected, fallen in love again after stubbornly resisting one another....and they all live happily ever after. Oh, and there's always a local who is, shall we say, a chubby older man with white hair and a beard. We just know he is destined to be Santa Claus, generally at the festival or fair. By the time the movie ends, all the local issues, whatever they may be, have been resolved, the town or its festival or fair or town square or whatever has been "saved", families have resolved their conflicts and worked everything out, Santa Claus has spread joy and peace, we've heard jingle bells and Christmas carols, etc. etc. etc. Oh, and every shopping trip ends with the shoppers carrying in dozens of cute bags from all the cue little local picture-perfect shops. I mean cute shopping bags in holiday patterns. Where are the real people wearing sweatpants, wet, snowy tennis shoes and carrying an armload of bags from Home Depot, Wal-Mart, Dollar Tree TSC and Aldi's while chickens and cats follow a person from the car to the door, seeming to ask "what did you bring me?" Who really lives in these perfect Christmas worlds?

Aren't you glad Hallmark doesn't have Spring/Summer gardening movies? Because if they did, we'd have to look at ridiculously perfect landscapes and gardens with nary a stray weed or blade of grass in sight, maintained by people who look like they've never broken a sweat on the worst day of their lives. Whew! I think a Hallmark Christmas movie is a nice place to visit, but it would be super stressful to try to live in that perfect world...winter or summer. I've amused myself watching them this weekend, but the weather returns to normal tomorrow and I'll get back into my usual not-trapped-indoors routine.

Dawn

Interesting about cardinals. In Minneapolis, the cardinals were SO territorial. Usually only 1 male cardinal showing up near our house in the winter. Down here we often see 4-5 male cardinals around. Perhaps it's because we have so many trees and bird food? No clue.

Rebecca, I also saw the fig filled shortbreads. So thankful the kids I'm gonna send cookies to aren't gourmet cookie lovers. LOLOL Yours are works of art. Mine aren't that, but so far, the 3 I've done so far taste good. And the dark English fruitcake bit I tackled? I am having a ball with it all, but just have been reading up and finding out all kinds of things about how to make them perfect, and I didn't do any of em. So guess we go spend another $30 to make another batch and this time fine-tuning. I had no idea this was such an art.

My property/yards/gardens. I'm feeling pretty cavalier this year. SO much chop and drop in the beds. SO many leaves mowed down and strewn in the beds. SO many wood chips/raised bed soil/wood chips. I'm feelin' good about this year's putting the beds to sleep for the winter.

And the main thing is. To watch for any one single day that's great weather to be working out there, and then to DO it.

I applaud and honor all of you who can adopt multiple critters--chickens, cats, dogs. Not us. I have nervous breakdowns over one kitty that doesn't want to come in. But love my animal family. And each of them is SO individual. Like humans, like snow flakes. Precious individuals.

Well, now I have the respiratory plague that’s been going around at work, which means the shortbread may be toxic.

Dawn, your assessment of Hallmark movies is spot on. I can usually tolerate a couple of their movies, then I go into sugar shock.

Hi Everyone.

My Mom loves Hallmark movies. She's watched each Christmas one several times. She did say she's getting bored with them now. I've honestly never watched an entire one. (I lean towards the funny Christmas movies like Christmas Vacation and Elf) I suppose it is fun to imagine living in a Hallmark movie--an escape.

Rebecca, so sorry you're sick!

Today is one of those ridiculous days. Drop off Ethan, go to work, leave at noon to take something to my daughter, come back to work, pick up Ethan, go home, feed everyone, drop Tom at my Mom's, drop Ethan at the school, come to the kindergarten Christmas program, leave early and rush over to Westmoore to see Ethan's concert. Tom will ride with my Mom After the concert we will go pick up a rescue chicken and bring it home and put it in the old coop. In between all of that, mailing Christmas cards and dropping off stuff for a school's Christmas store.

A friend texted me on Sunday. Her in-laws have a random chicken that showed up in their yard. It's been living in their backyard for a few weeks. They are trying to find a home for her now. She looks pretty rough (in pictures). She may be molting. And, because, why not take a random chicken?

It was warm yesterday afternoon. Cleaned out the old coop and put fresh shavings down for her. Cleaned up one of the small feeders and one of the small waterers for her. Also, did a little bit of clean up outside. Felt good to be outdoors in the sunshine.

Finbar is continuing his adventures outdoors. There really is a risk everytime your cat goes outdoors. I have to get over that. This was the plan all along. Something scared him last night...and he lost his collar. I found him around 9. It's so dark so early right now. And the moon is just a sliver.

I bought a basil plant at the store. I miss fresh basil. There's always so much of it in the summer and until the first freeze. But, then I mess it. Made a really yummy soup last night--gnocchi basil pesto soup.

Other than that, just trying to get the insurance to give us an offer so we can get another car for Ethan. Shopping and cleaning. Found out we will have a couple of guests from the 21st to the 25th. Oh my. That's a whole 'nother story.

Are y'all ready for the cold air and wind?

It hasn't reached us yet, but is in the county next to us, so it won't be long now. We won't get the worst of the wind gusts until around bedtime to night, when we may have wind gusts in the mid-50s. Some light rain has fallen already this morning, but not very much. More is expected later. We already have a lot of mud from last week's rain, so I'm not thrilled we'll soon have more, but good weather is expected after we get through the next 36-48 hours so perhaps that sunshine that is coming will dry up the mud.

I'm just hoping that no big trees from the woodland fall onto the garden (more likely) or the house (not as likely, though there is one dead tree on the northern edge of the woods that does worry me).

I wonder where all the leaves will end up after this wind event? I'm hoping for lots of rain to fall in order to help the leaves pack down and stay in place where they are, but I doubt it will rain enough in advance of the strong winds.

In the yard, we have henbit about 6" tall and getting close to blooming. I think it will bloom before the end of December. For the sake of the bees and the butterflies, I'm happy about that. Also in the yard, but closer to the outdoor water faucet, we have native autumn asters in bloom. The plants themselves are only about 2-3" tall, so I'm guessing that is the regrowth they've made since the last time that Tim mowed. The flowers are so small that it is easy to miss them, but the bees and butterflies find them anyway. Other winter weeds like cool-season grasses and forbs really are popping up now---anything green outdoors is welcome in December.

Indoors, the cyclamen still is in bloom, but is starting to look unhappy. I really think the house is too warm for it. Maybe I should just put it out on the front porch as it prefers temperatures in the 50s, not in the low 70s like we have indoors. The first amaryllis is about to bloom. Based on the tiny amount of color I see showing on the edges of the blooms, it is going to be either white or one of the combination white-and-red ones. I moved this plant from the window in the dining area to the kitchen counter this morning so I can enjoy watching its blooms unfurl as I work on holiday baking.

Hope all of you are well and safe from any possible wicked weather. I suspect the wind chills are going to be brutal later on as the winds worsen.

Dawn

RAIN, RAIN! Lots of rain. But it's pretty warm, actually. 57. Not really windy yet. We're all snuggled in--the cats, the dog, and us--and it is dark and gloomy-looking outside. No DAWN, not ready for cold air and wind.

I have no idea what has been going on with me. First I proclaimed that I don't really do any baking for Christmas. Or decorating. The house looks very pretty now with lights strung all the way across the front of the house and around the front door. And I have, count 'em, so far 25 dozen cookies made and still have 3 more different kinds to make. Now we all know the way to get me to do something. Tell me I can't or won't. Apparently this works even if I am the one telling myself that.

One cannot do frosted sugar cookies once every 40 years and expect to turn out works of art. That is my conclusion. So. Either I need to begin making lots of them, often, until I get good, or I need to never make them again.

How are the rest of you staying busy?

I sure hope the Tuscan blue rosemary stays okay inside all winter. It does have the fluorescent lights on at least 6 hours a day. Looks good for now. Fingers crossed. Also have purple sweet potato vine (why I don't know, as remember, the aphids and beetles devour it), Amy's Cuban oregano, Eileen's pandan, a couple aloe vera, spider plant, and my laurel bay tree. All these are in the art/quilt/cat room. :)

Okay, off to do Mexican wedding cookies now. Cheers!

I made a bunch of cookies last weekend. Our church adopted the local grade school and we made up a gift basket for them. Actually, it was more like 3 big boxes full of cookies, candy, and crackers. Most people just brought prepackaged, but since I was asking for homemade I thought I should make some myself. Now I need to make some for our dog sitting clients. Christmas is turning out to be quite busy, and I already have puppy gift bags ready. Their owners might appreciate a little something, too.

Oh--and 9 fruitcakes steeping in bourbon or rum. We are up to 3 1/4" now.

It's the most rain in one day we've had in a long long time. I'm done with round 1 of baking. Everything's cleaned up; packages of cookies ready to mail out. Now I'm strategizing for Round 2. More sugar cookies. LOL And gingerbread men. How funny!

Dawn, that is absolutely hysterical!! After all the whining about making salsa for Christmas gifts and you are so done with that. Hahahahahahaha!!! That's even funnier than me not decorating or baking.

I'm making a kind of Mexican-ish casserole for dinner. Tiny has been an absolute BRAT today. He keeps going out on the deck to see if it's still raining, and of course it has been all day. So then after 15 minutes out there he comes back in. But then he gets bored. He thinks it's my job to keep him entertained. Truly. He is JUST like an 8-yr old little boy. Like my little boys were when they were trapped inside because of the rain. VERY funny.

Wow. . . now the rain is coming even harder--bet we end up with between 4-5 inches today.

And the other two aren't much better than Tiny. Every time I come out to the computer, this is about what I run into. Cept if Tom and Jerry aren't in my face, the orange one is.

Well, we got some rain. Lots of it, I think. The yard and field are flooded. We needed it. The last rain missed us. Not complaining.

However, driving home from the north side yesterday afternoon...I will complain about that. Yikes. Took over an hour to get home.

We bought Ethan a car. It's an old CR-V that is in good shape. Thank goodness I can cross that off my list of stressful things. The woman's insurance company gave us a good offer. That is a blessing too.

Our new little hen is doing well, I think. I feel bad because I haven't been home until well after dark since Monday. So, she hasn't gotten any attention...and has put herself on the roost bar by the time I make it home. Tom did snap a pic of her on Wednesday. She seems mellow and sweet, so I think I'll just call her Sweetie Pie. Or should I give her a Christmas name like Holly....hmmmm.....Sweetie Pie would be funny if she turns out to be the opposite. Holly is cute because it just is...and it's Christmas time. Opinions?

Our young roo hasn't figured out he's in charge yet. I suppose that will come?

I've got nothing in regards to gardening.

Finbar continues to mess with the Christmas tree, but not too badly. I say that and will get home to find it destroyed. I sure hope not. I am one of those people who must have animals in my home, but I also like things to look nice. (Nice in my opinion) and sometimes "nice" and animals don't go together.

Nancy, I forgot to say that I like the pic of Tom and Jerry! LOL The one is in the background.

And Dawn, I think it's a perfect time to make salsa. You're not exhausted from gardening and your kitchen is much cooler this time of year.

Nancy, I knew y'all would be amused by my decision to make salsa. It isn't making it that I find so difficult---it is the struggle to get all the canning done in addition to all the summertime gardening chores, all in the endless summer heat---especially since my kitchen faces the west. Being able to make the salsa in autumn or winter is so much nicer. Also, it comes down to quantity. I made only about a third of what I used to make, so before I had time to get tired and burned out, I already was done. Anyway, it just didn't feel like Christmas without counters and tables covered with gift bags containing jars of salsa. So, now that I have cluttered up the house with gift bags (we buy them in lots of 100 online from U-line) and jars of salsa, it feels like Christmas. Like it or not, and on hot summer days I kinda hate it, this has become our tradition.

I honestly did miss canning this summer, and I miss having lots of jars of pickles and canned tomatoes and such, but I put up enough tomatoes in the freezer to get us through the winter, and now we have enough salsa too, even after we give away a lot of it. Tim gave me a stripped down list containing how much salsa he needed for work and it was so short I told him he could add more names, so he added about 10 more. I'm glad he didn't go too wild adding more names to the list, or I'd be making more salsa. It helps that his current work group is about 1/4 the size of the work group he had back when he was a lieutenant.

It sounds like you got into the spirit and are creating Christmas joy everywhere. I did decorate the house more this year than I have done in the last decade, purely because the girls love it so much. To me, there's something that is just so nice and cozy about spending chilly, cloudy, rainy winter days indoors in the kitchen, cooking or baking with Christmas lights twinkling on the tree, and elsewhere. Even when the dogs are grabbing ball-shaped Christmas ornaments and running off with them, and the cats are attacking everything on the tree, it still just.....feels like Christmas.

Oh, and when I was making salsa all day, I didn't even have to run the furnace because the hot, steamy kitchen was heating up the whole house. I didn't even realize how hot and steamy the house was until I went outside around 5 pm to feed the deer and birds (and squirrels and coons and possums and whoever else shows up....) their dinner. It was windy and chilly, but not rainy that day, and I did wear a coat. When I walked back into the house, I was stunned at how hot and steamy it was just from the day-long salsa canning operation. The difference between the indoor air and outdoor air reminded me why summer canning is so miserable....

Rain makes our cats and dogs crazy. It is almost like they want to go out even more than usual because it is raining and they can't. They drive me crazy with whining and fussing and sitting at the door and wanting to go out into pouring rain.

We had mostly light bands of the rain, not the heavier ones that hit y'all, so we only have about 1.6" in our rain gauge, which is plenty since we just had good rainfall last week as well. We have nothing but mud again. I guess winter mud season has begun. The wind has been pretty rough. I think our highest recorded wind gust was only about 41 mph or something, so we never got the drastically higher wind, but even wind speeds in the 30s and 40s create quite a brutal wind chill.

Jen, Our dogs are the worst beggars when I'm baking. I guess the aromas drifting out of the kitchen fire up their appetites. I bet you will be busy with extra dogs during the holiday season. There's a pet boarding facility in our county and two of my friends used to work there. They always were insanely busy during holiday periods. It is so nice of you to make puppy gift bags.

Jennifer, I'm glad y'all were able to cross getting Ethan a replacement vehicle off your list and now have one less thing to worry about.

Traffic was brutal here too. We got paged out to a couple of wrecks yesterday, but the worst wrecks were well north of us, including a double-fatality crash in the evening where 3 VFDs had to extricate two people, both in critical condition, from the wrecked vehicles in addition to the one who didn't survive the impact. It was so horrible, and to think that two families lost loved ones this close to the holidays is just so sad. Hopefully the other patients recover well from their injuries. It is astonishing how many more car wrecks there are when it rains, and a crash like that can change families' lives in an instant. Chris just drove in from Dallas this morning, and told me a few minutes ago that he was battling strong winds in the rain all the way home, so the highways must have had one of those strong bands of wind and rain over them at the time he was driving. It doesn't seem that bad here at the house, but we are in a low-lying area and have acres and acres of trees serving as wind blocks, so I think we don't feel the wind as much here at home, at least sometimes.

We did have thunderstorms, which seems odd for December, but our weather is nuts so that doesn't even surprise me that much.

I'd say name the chicken whatever makes you happy. But.....sometimes pet names can sound ridiculous to other people. We once had a dog named Biscuit (Chris names him after Limp Bizket) and then got another dog named Honey. When they were out running on the property and I was out calling their names wanting them to come home, it sounded like I was calling my breakfast to come in, i. e. "Honey! Biscuit!" Both are long gone now, and since then I've been more careful about giving animals names that sound like food. Well, except for Pumpkin. He was orange so that name was just a natural for him.

Your young roo will realize he is in charge in late winter or early spring when it is time for him to fertilize the girls' eggs so y'all can have chicks if you choose to let the hens set on eggs and hatch them. It is a hormone thing. I am sure it must be triggered by daylength or something once a rooster reaches a certain age. Trust me, he'll turn into Mr. Macho Man when he realizes he rules the roost and that the rest of the chickens are his harem. From that point forward, he'll have an attitude and he will be so proud to show off his boss-man attitude. He might develop a lot of swagger that borders on being obnoxious. We'd had a few roosters over the years who thought they'd spur every human who walked into the coop or the chicken run once the spring season had begun. Generally I could put a halt to the constant spurring by whacking a rooster once or twice (not hard, just enough to get its attention) with the broom. Once you establish that the rooster is not allowed to spur people, life gets much easier. It's all good, though, because once he reaches that point, he'll be a rock-solid protector of his girls, herding them together underneath shrubs or trees, for example, when hawks are flying over. He'll also fight fiercely to protect them.

I agree that it can be hard to keep things looking nice when you have indoor pets. It is a constant struggle, but one that we willingly endure because we love both our home and our animals. I feel like I'm constant mopping up pet paw prints, wiping up assorted messes (we should own stock in Chlorox Wipes), and sweeping up/vacuuming up pet hair. It is never-ending. For as much hair as the cats and dogs shed constantly, I have no idea why they are not bald.

I have nothing gardening-related, other than that first bloom on the first amaryllis has opened and it is solid white and so very pretty. I placed the amaryllis pot on a shelf in front of a black chalkboard today so the white flower stands out like crazy in front of the chalkboard. That plant has two blooming stalks, each of which normally produces 3 or 4 flowers over a period of weeks, and now a third stalk is arising from the bulb and will produce at least one flower bud. It is an oddly shaped bud, like someone sliced the top off (though it is intact) and gave it a flat-top haircut, so to speak. It will be interesting to see if that bud produces a normal flower. The next plant to bloom is one that has produced only one flower stalk so far.

I had the four year old this morning while Chris went to Dallas and back again, and beginning tonight, we'll have both girls for the weekend while Chris and his girlfriend both work. We have lots of fun holiday activities planned and they are excited. It is hard for the little one to understand how much longer she has to wait for Christmas to get here. Every time she comes into the house, she asks if today is the day to open presents. By now, she should know that the answer is 'No'. Today she informed me that she needs a new baby doll because the two dolls she has here at the house "need" a little sister. I personally feel two baby dolls underfoot are plenty. Anyhow, our holiday shopping for her is all done already and I have no desire to fight the crowds to do more shopping.

I'm grateful it rained. There were some pretty big fires (800+ acres) yesterday in parts of western OK that had the wind gusts in the upper 50s but no rain. Those of us who received rain could have had the same wildfire issues if we had remained dry. As annoying as the constant rain can be while it is falling (I feel like those rain bands have been circulating over us for days and days, and it really has been only two days), it is good to get the rain after the plants have frozen and are brown, crispy and ready to burn.

After today/tonight, we get some better weather for a few days so that will be nice. I miss the sun when it is not shining and visible.

Dawn

For any of you who are within fairly easy driving distance of me. . . sigh. . . looking for a home for a sweet and beautiful spayed cat, 6 years old. She looks kind of Siamese-y, blue eyes, but has white hind feed. These neighbors got a beautiful German Shepherd mix not long ago (he looks like Titan's little brother!). Well apparently the dog is terrible with the cat. She sent me a note asking if I'd take the kitty. (I would, too, if GDW would be okay with it but he isn't.)

Dawn, with my kids at church I used to make paper chains. Each night when they went to bed (or morning when they wake up) they could tear one chain off. When they run out of chains, they know Christmas is the next day. To make it more interactive, I'd add different questions or activities for them.

I don't think MY cat would tolerate a second cat.

We solved our cat/dog issues with this Gate. As long as everyone remembers to shut the gate, the cat is safe in the back of the house and the dog doesn't drag dirty underwear to the living room. Unfortunately she goes to the garage for her litter box, so she still has to brave the dog occasionally.

Speaking of the dog, she got the last chicken yesterday. I could tell DH I told you so, but I've managed to keep my mouth shut.

We did bake some cookies for a cookie exchange, Ron mixed and I baked.

Currently the grandsons are here. The little one LOVES pancakes. The plan is to have them (oldest?) Decorate the tree (small) and maybe make salt dough ornaments. The ornaments might conflict with daughter's plan to bake cookies. Some logistics to work out.

I don't know how much it rained. My gauge must have cracked. We had a lot of rain, for a long time. Tulsa got 2.91, and I think that's about right. Of course we were out shopping in it.

H/J, I'm glad you got a car. Hopefully that will be your son's quota for wrecks. It seemed like my kids had to have one or two wrecks when they first started driving.

Was having lunch Thursday (at Hapa) and they have this sign out front that the wind blew into the window. Scared us, since we were sitting next to the window.

Going back to Cardinals. While some may go further south, they probably just gather together in flocks for the winter. That is what Robins do. On a Christmas bird count years ago we went into one neighborhood where we counted 50 Cardinals. I had not seen that many in a group before. I usually have a resident pair at my feeders year round. The Robins disappear from neighborhoods and flock together in wooded areas. I will see large flocks at Oxley Nature Center in winter.

I had to put down the latest seed catalog before I bought more lettuce. I don't think there are as many lettuce varieties as there are tomatoes, but everyone has SOMETHING different that I want.

Time to get busy. XOXO

My daughter posted this conversation with my grandson today.

Discussions with a 5 year old

N: we made ornaments today! This was my first time making ornaments!

Me: that’s awesome! Did you know me and Uncle Travis made ornaments when we were your age?

N: you were 5?!

Me: yep. Just like you were 4 last year and 3 year before that. And you’ll be my age in like 5 years.

N: 5 years?!

Me: yep it goes by that quick!

N: *somberly* well, if i were a girl i wouldn’t die...

Me: ummm. Why’s that??

N: because girls have stuff that makes them live longer.

Me: what like common sense??

*Memaw sitting listening to us about chokes on her lunch. *

Nancy, She's such a pretty cat. I hope you can find her a home.

Jen, I loved making paper chains when I was a kid. Maybe I'll do that with the girls next year. I had all sorts of plans this year for something cute to count down the days until Christmas but never got around to doing any of them. I need to be more organized next year.

The big hit among the holiday decorations that has given the girls the most pleasure is the Cocoa Bar. It is set up on top of a short (36" tall) bookcase so they can reach it. There's a Hot Cocoa Served Here sign on the wall. Then, on the Cocoa Bar, there's glass canisters containing cocoa, marshmallows, peppermints, and a plastic container with 6 kinds of holiday sprinkles. There's also copper mules (our mugs are copper outside, stainless steel inside) for the adults to use and two Santa Claus mugs, the ones that look like Santa's head, for the girls to use. They love to make a cup of hot chocolate. Usually they choose sugar-free whipped cream as their topping and then then sprinkle holiday sprinkles on top. We have to make a big production of it, dragging the step stool up to the kitchen counter so the 4 year old can stir her own cocoa into the milk, and then she can delightedly sprinkle two kinds (because 1 is not enough) of holiday sprinkles on top of her whipped cream, while her sister stands beside her and makes her own. I think they have as much fun making it as drinking it. Simple pleasures are the best. They're already lobbying for the hot chocolate bar to remain in place all winter, and it probably will, although I'll take down the Christmas lights and ornaments that decorate it. In the evenings, after they mix up their hot cocoa, we pop a bag of microwave popcorn and then watch a movie together. They love this and call it Family Movie Night. Last night we watched How The Grinch Stole Christmas after we came home from the VFD Christmas Party.

I love Christmas and I love having the whole house decorated from top of bottom, but my mind is already looking beyond Christmas to seed-starting and I am starting to count the days until I can take down all the holiday decorations and put them away so I can move on to garden planning and seed starting.

My Christmas amaryllis corner of the dining room is looking good. The white amaryllis that is in bloom has fully double blooms and is breathtakingly gorgeous. The first flower is fully open and this morning a second one is opening on the same stalk. You never really know what kind of flowers you'll get from an amaryllis bulb---sometimes you get a dud that doesn't bloom, or that is slow and doesn't bloom until February, but this bulb is a dazzler.

Amy, What a truly priceless conversation that was!!!! I was laughing all the way through it. To me, little conversations like that are the best memories I have and I try to remember them and never forget them. Kids really do say the cutest things.

Dawn